Southwest

 

 Snooze an A.M. Eatery – Denver, CO (with other southwestern locations as well)

Snooze an A.M. Eatery is a breakfast and brunch restaurant located in Denver, Colorado and a few other southwestern cities.  The restaurant uses local goods to produce great food.  The restaurant is a modern restaurant featuring things like shrimp and grits and a variety of pancakes.  The restaurant uses pure maple syrup.  The menu varies by location depending on the supply of local foods.  The restaurant is small and very popular so expect a wait.  Since the restaurant expects long waits they will give you water while you wait.

 

Breakfast Club – Phoenix, AZ

Breakfast Club is a great restaurant located in Phoenix, AZ.  The restaurant has a beer infusion in their French Toast batter.  It sounds strange and makes the bread kind of soggy but, my my my it is so good.  I was so amazed.  We chose this restaurant over Mikes Big Breakfast,  and it was a good decision.  Everything we tried in our two visits were good.  The food was so good that we were able to meet relatives, who live in Phoenix, there and turn them on to the restaurant.

 

Euclid Hall – Denver, CO

Euclid Hall Kitchen and Bar is a restaurant in downtown Denver, CO.  The restaurant has a variety of items including Chicken and Waffles.  While the Chicken and Waffles are not bad they have a weird twang about them.  The chicken and syrup are delicious.  The cheeese curds are also fantastic.

 

Sassafras – Denver, CO

Sassafras is a great very little restaurant in Denver, CO.  The restaurant uses local ingredients and has a very eclectic vibe.  The French Toast are fantastic.  The biscuits and gravy are some of the best I’ve ever consumed.  The gravy is phenomenal.  The also have great eggs and bacon.  The biscuits are small but really flakey, which is not something we see as much anymore which was quite refreshing.  The restaurant is super small so there will likely be a wait.  If you wait a long time you will find that it was all worth it.

 

Jongewaard’s Bake n Broil – Long Beach, CA

Jongewaard’s Bake ‘n Broil is a cute little restaurant located in Long Beach, CA.  The French Toast are really good, basic but super fluffy and quite good.  The is really nothing super different from other places but they made me want to go back for more.  They are just good.  I met a number of relatives there and the consensus is that they sell basic breakfast but they just make it taste better than most other places.  I don’t know how to describe it but to say when you taste the food you will see that it has a certain “Je ne sais quoi” that will have you longing for more.

 

The Original Pantry Cafe – Los Angeles, CA

The Original Pantry Cafe is an old breakfast restaurant located in downtown Los Angeles, one block away from the Staples Center. The restaurant is very small and very busy at all times.  When I arrived the line wrapped around the building, and we patiently waited.  The restaurant is old and has an old, classic, static menu.  They do not allow any modifications so whatever is on the menu is what you order.  The food is cooked in front of everyone, separated by a large glass enclosure, and watching them put out the food so quickly is a show by itself.  The food is delicious and it is cooked to perfection.  The restaurant is an institution, for good reason, so if you’re in LA you should check it out.

 

Denver Biscuit Company – Denver, CO

The Denver Biscuit Company is the most unique restaurant I have ever visited.  The restaurant uses biscuits in everything.  They even have biscuit French Toast, and it is more than just a biscuit with syrup.  Those French Toast were so good that I’m constantly looking for a reason to visit Denver just to go to the Denver Biscuit Company.  They have biscuits and gravy with many different types of gravies.  I opted for the mushroom gravy and it was a good choice.  (Yes I had the Biscuit French Toast and the Biscuit and Gravy.)  my husband went with one of the chicken biscuits eith eggs, bacon, and gravy.  Both of us have been talking about the restaurant since we left Denver.  It looks like I need to schedule a trip to see the nuggets and eat some biscuits.

 

 

More from the Denver Biscuit Company 

Hash House a Go Go – San Diego, CA

Hash House a Go Go is a whimsical farm to table restaurant located in a few cities around the United States.  The portion sizes are ginormous and the presentation is second to none.  Each restaurant has the same menu but there are slight variations based     on the local availability of foods.  The portion sizes are always large but also vary by location.

The San Diego, CA location is the original location.  It’s the first but not as good as Orlando or Chicago.  The biscuits were rather dry.  The waffles were a little gummy as well.  However, the food was good, I was just spoiled by my food in Chicago and in Orlando.

 

Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles – Los Angeles, CA and other Southern California locations

Roscoes House of Chicken and Waffles is a very popular Southern California restaurant.  The restaurant features their famous chicken and waffles as well as other southern fare. The waffles are made from a cinnamon batter and they are quite good.   They have good biscuits.  The chicken is also good, but definitely not my mama’s fried chicken. My favorite, however, are the chicken livers with onions and gravy.  The portion sizes are huge, but if you try you can knock them out.  Roscoes is a Southern California staple and since its good, of course I recommend it.

 

Breakfast Republic – San Diego, CA

Breakfast Republic is one of my favorite Southern California restaurants.  We always plan for our flights to land in time to make it to Breakfast Republic.  It used to be hands down our favorite Southern California restaurant, however the restaurant has lowered their quality, so while it is still good it does not stand out like it used to.  We are still committed, since we do own two Breakfast Republic mugs and a small plate.

The restaurant has multiple locations in Southern California but it is not a big chain.  The brioche French Toast melts in your mouth.  The pancakes are quite good.  My husband still can’t stop eating their potatoes.  Everything we’ve eaten has been very good.  In addition to good food the service is amazing.

 

Brian’s 24 – San Diego, CA

I am of two hearts when it comes to Brian’s 24. Is the food good, yes.  The service however is terrible.  I went to Brian’s 24 because it was recommended as the second best Chicken and Waffles, with Hash House a Go Go being number one.  Since I am a connoisseur of Chicken and Waffles, as well as French Toast, I had to give it a try.  I will not delve into the horror that was my service, but I will say that the manager took care of the situation after the fact.  Since the manager was quite gracious I will recommend it since the food is good.

Are the waffles good?  The waffles are good.  The chicken was fried a little too hard for me but the meat was good.  I also enjoyed the pancake.  My husband also enjoyed his food.  Since the manager corrected the situation I can recommend Brian’s 24.  I do hope you do not get the same waiter that I did, but I feel like he won’t be making those mistakes again.   (In case you were wondering I was not rude to anyone there.)

 

Richard Walker’s Pancake House – San Diego, CA

Richard Walker’s Pancake House is located in Downtown San Diego, CA.  If you’ve been to any of the Original Pancake Houses in Chicago, you will notice striking similarities.  The restaurants are the exact same, in every way.  That is a good thing.  The restaurant is simply outstanding.  The food is awesome.  The service is awesome. The timing is awesome.  They have this thing down to a science and they get it done. They are so efficient and so good you will be amazed.  The lines are always very long but they move quickly.  They do not take reservations so plan accordingly.  Everything at this restaurant is cooked to perfection so please wait in line for the 30 minutes , go inside and see the greatness that is Richard Walker’s Pancake House.

If you’re wondering why I have no pictures I was too hungry and caught up in the speediness of the service that I forgot to take pictures.

 

Breakfast Klub – Houston, TX

I was torn about whether or not to add this restaurant to the blog.  The food is not the best I have ever had, however it is the best breakfast I have had in Houston, and judging by the ridiculously long line outside of the building I had to add it.  I also liked the feel of the restaurant.  The restaurant is a converted gas station convenience store, which lends it to terrible parking so don’t drive a freshly cleaned car here, it won’t be nice and clean when you leave.  The place is packed and people seem to come over and over again based on my conversations with other patrons.

 

I ordered the chicken and waffles and the biscuit and gravy.   Full disclosure, I hated the biscuit and gravy but I ordered it without the sausage gravy so it may be better with the sausage gravy.  However, the biscuit was the worst biscuit I have ever had in my entire life, and I’ve eaten a lot of biscuits.  The biscuits tasted like they had garlic.  I could not finish the meal.  The chicken and waffles were okay.   The waffle was no more tasty than any hotel waffle I’ve ever had, but the chicken was very good.

The vibe of this restaurant was fantastic.  I like the layout and the a la carte nature of the drinks, syrup, and other condiments.  I also liked the way you make your order as you walk in and pick your seat.  They bring you the food and its a very easy in and out process to keep the flow moving.

 

Hash House a Go Go – Las Vegas, NV

I visited the Hash House a Go Go in the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.  First, the food was really good.  Second, the hotel was awful.  I visited the Plaza Hotel location because I wanted to go to Hash House a Go Go and I could not get a reservation at the one in the LINQ Hotel and I really wanted to try one of the Las Vegas locations but a I was only given one hour for lunch.  The restaurant is conveniently located next to McDonald’s.  It is an oddity in a awful location.

The food, I must speak about the food.  The food was very good.  You may notice that my meal is missing the leeks and the other garnishments.  Given my time constraints I ordered my food without the garnishments.  The service was super fast.  However, the service was not very good.  I made my reservation via OpenTable which gives points for reservations that are made through the site and confirmed as completed.  Instead of confirming my arrival, they canceled my reservation and I had to call to get my points.  My waiter was also absent.  If I wanted a refill I wouldn’t have gotten it.  Since I was hoping to escape as quickly as possible this was not so bad.  I paid before I ate and ran far far away from this horrible location.  I do recommend the Hash House a Go Go as a fun location to take your kids and family.  Please do not take them to the Plaza Hotel, there are about four locations in Las Vegas.

The Aria Cafe – Las Vegas, NV

The Aria Cafe is located in the Aria – a casino owned by MGM on the Las Vegas Strip.  The cafe is very good and located right outside of the casino on the first floor.  The cafe has all types of food but specifically has all day breakfast.  They were listed as one of the top locations for all day breakfast in Vegas and it passed my test.  They have pure maple syrup which is always a plus.

I ordered the Chicken and Waffles.  While, they were not the best chicken and waffles I have ever had, they were still pretty good.  They get a strike for giving me chicken tenders.  Since they seasoned them well I will give them a solid B+.  I felt the service was good and the food was served really quickly.  While in Vegas they are probably some of the best that are in the <$25 price range.

 

The Henry – Las Vegas, NV

The Henry is a cute little restaurant located near the casino in the Cosmopolitan right on the Las Vegas strip.  The food is very good.  I went twice on my trip.  I really liked that they cook everything to order, however when you’re ordering boiled eggs it takes a while.  I also liked the location because the restaurant is so easy to find (located right in front by the door nearest to the Bellagio).  The restaurant also sells some breakfast items all day.

 

While there I ordered the shrimp and grits the first time and the French Toast the second time.  The portion sizes are totally random so since the shrimp and grits were a small portion I assumed the French toast would be too so I ordered an extra piece of bread for the French Toast.  The French Toast was massive.  It was sooo good though.  The shrimp and grits were very good too.  They put mushrooms in the shrimp and grits which really set it apart.  They also have a corn salsa, however I opted out of that option.   The roux for the shrimp and grits were also good.  I also found it odd that the shrimp and grits in Las Vegas was better than any shrimp and grits eaten in New Orleans.

Yardbird – Las Vegas, NV

Yardbird is a restaurant located in the Venetian Hotel on the Las Vegas strip.  The restaurant has the best Chicken and Waffles in all of Las Vegas.  I ate these chicken and waffles three times in six days.  The service is phenomenal as well.  So in my trips to I ate the Chicken and Waffles, Shrimp and Grits, Chicken Thighs and Buttermilk Biscuits and everything was great.

The shrimp and grits are the best in Las Vegas, easily better than any other location in South Carolina and New Orleans.  I have been to the best restaurants in South Carolina and they have amazing Shrimp and Grits (Magnolia and Blossom are phenomenal by the way) but they are close buy not as good as Yardbird.  I cannot say enough except, why couldn’t I have these every day.  The only place with better shrimp and grits is Chicago Q.

The Chicken and Waffles are made with a Cheddar Waffle and a half chicken.  They are amazing, not cheap but easily the best in the area.  I hear Buchon is amazing, but they only have them on the weekends from what I understand so if I am in Las Vegas on the weekend I will visit there next.  The chicken and waffles are served with hot sauce, not needed, and a bourbon maple syrup.  They syrup is rather strong so use it sparingly.  The syrup is still very good.  I recommend mixing the syrup with pure maple syrup to make it even more amazing.  I also recommend trying the chicken thighs and buttermilk biscuits.    They are an appetizer that could easily be a meal.  I could go on for days but I recommend eating at Yardbird.  I have been two three locations so far and I cannot recommend them enough.

Harbor Breakfast – San Diego, CA

Harbor Breakfast is a cute restaurant located in San Diego, CA in Little Italy.  The restaurant is a small corner restaurant not far from the US Midway museum.  The restaurant is likely the best brunch or breakfast restaurant I’ve visited in San Diego.  I ordered the French Toast with Hardboiled eggs and bacon for my son.  My son loved the bacon and the French Toast was made on challah bread.  The French toast was a little dark but it was still very good.  My husband ordered the eggs, with toast and fruit and was pleased.   The restaurant is not the best in the world but it is the best I’ve been to in San Diego.